1. Technical Field
This invention relates to enlarging printers and, more particularly, to a panoramic enlarging printer which will accommodate panoramic negatives on a negative shuttle, project light through the negative into a lens, the lens then projecting the image to a photosensitive paper which will produce an enlarged photographic print having high quality and resolution.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The development of a panoramic printer is prompted by the need to produce photograph prints of large dimension (10".times.90") from a smaller negative (approximately 2".times.18"). Conventional enlarging systems would suggest that the negatives be fixed in a holder while being fully illuminated. To evenly illuminate a negative of panoramic size is extremely difficult. Furthermore, even if illumination can be achieved, a large area is needed to project the image from the negative onto photographic paper to receive the image. The paper to be exposed would have to be fixed to a surface that closely approximates the lens perimeters to maintain a good focus, i.e., in most cases the surface would not be flat, but would be a complex curve. In most prior art devices, the lens is placed at a position between the object and image plane. The total distance from the object to the image is a direct function of the lens focal length and the magnification factor. To obtain a good focus all along the distance of the print, a long focal length lens should be used. Because of this, the resulting overall size of the system is very large. It also takes a long time to complete an exposure and is very labor intensive.
Various attempts at improving this method are found in the prior art. For example, Leash et al., U.S. Pat. No. 1,138,963, discloses a means for printing an enlargement from a negative film which projects an image from a negative roll through a lens onto a roll of photograph paper moved in the opposite direction. Of course, the main problem with this device is that the negative is mounted on rollers, and thus when the end of the negative film is reached, the feed roller releases the negative and tension on the negative is removed. This results in the last section of the image being projected at a different angle and at a different speed than the rest of the image, thus producing an image which has poor quality at the ends of the image.
Likewise, Fujitani, U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,155, discloses a similar method and apparatus to enlarge photographs, also using a negative mount on rollers. The same problems occur with this apparatus, however, as encountered in the Leash apparatus. Furthermore, on both the Leash and Fujitani devices, to run the negative through the device more than once requires rewinding the negative film and recommencing running thereof. This can be especially time consuming if the negative is released from the supply roller following each run therethrough. There is therefore a need for a device which may quickly and easily be rerun to produce multiple images on the photographic paper the image is being printed to.
Another disadvantage encountered in the prior art is that when the end of the photographic paper held on the supply spool is reached, the photographic paper loses tension and quickly feeds past the image being projected from the negative, thus resulting in an incorrectly reproduced image. There is therefore a need for a paper feed system which will generally alleviate this problem.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved panoramic enlarging printer.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a panoramic enlarging printer which can quickly and easily rerun a negative film placed therein to produce multiple images on photographic paper to which the image is being printed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a panoramic enlarging printer which does not use rolled negatives to produce images for printing to photographic paper.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a panoramic enlarging printer which is of compact size and shape as compared to those prior art devices discussed above.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a panoramic enlarging printer which will reproduce very high quality and high resolution images on photographic paper.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a panoramic enlarging printer which is efficient in use of photographic paper.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a panoramic enlarging printer which will support a negative in generally flat relation for improving images projected therefrom.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide a panoramic enlarging printer which is relatively simple to manufacture, durable and space-efficient in construction and is safe and effective in use.